Plans to sell US Reaper drones to France advanced Monday as Congress raised no objections to the contract, Pentagon officials said.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign military sales, had notified Congress on June 27 of the proposed contract, and lawmakers voiced no opposition during a fifteen-day review period.
“Congress didn’t propose any joint resolution of disapproval. The case can proceed to be offered,” Lorna Jons of the DSCA told AFP.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had announced on June 11 plans to shop for 12 Reaper aircraft from the us, a purchase order worth about $874 million, or 670 million Euros.
An initial two drones, currently in production by San Diego-based manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, are as a result of be brought to France by the tip of the year.
The robotic aircraft will repace Harfang drones, that are technologically less advanced.
The NATO-led air war in Libya in 2011 and the French military intervention in Mali this year have underscored France’s shortage of surveillance drones, that have transformed warfare during the past decade since being introduced on a big-scale within the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In its notification to Congress, the DSCA said the project would supply France with as much as 16 MQ-9 Reapers, in addition to “associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support” at a value of $1.5 billion.
The variety of drones cited by the Pentagon exceeded the number unveiled by Paris, that’s often the case in arms deals to permit a partner to reserve additional hardware without requiring the DSCA to return to the united states Congress for an additional approval.
In justifying the sale, the agency said it’s “vital to america national interest to aid France to develop and maintain a robust and prepared self-defense capability” and that the drones would bolster the intelligence and surveillance capability of France while also ensuring American and French forces can operate jointly.
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